Malaysia: Penang - A multicultural island. There are even Teochews there!
- Where To Go Next By I&P
- Dec 26, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 9, 2023
We are visiting a new country, Malaysia!
We planned to only visit the west part of peninsular Malaysia because in the east part and Borneo, December is usually monsoon season.
We flew to Penang, the pearl of the orient, in the north of the country. On the plane I was happy to see that Malaysians spoke Bahasa, the same language as in Indonesia, which would make the arrival in the country much easier. We would also soon notice that some Chinese there spoke my parents' language, Teochew. Teochew is a Chinese dialect spoken by a diaspora all over the world (except Toronto weirdly 🤷♂️).
After buying a SIM card with Celcom at the airport (unlimited data at 3Mbps + calls, 30 days for 45RM), we took a public bus to go to our hotel in George Town.
Penang is an island very close to the mainland (and to a city called Butterworth - it really is a country of food lovers! 😋), connected to it by two long bridges. The airport is on the south part of the island, but George Town, the capital city of Penang, is all the way in the north and it took us 1h to get there.
Everything was well indicated on Google Maps and we were able to board this very cheap bus to George Town for less than 5 MYR for 2 (a little more than 1 USD). The bus was almost empty, which was good, but it was also very slow and old with every bump and pothole on the road threatening its structural integrity.
On the way to our homestay, the Lang Hoose, in the core section of George Town, we could appreciate the colonial style of the houses and shops with arches in front of each of them, offering protection from the sun and rain. We could also hear that multiple languages were coexisting - Malaysian, Arabic, Chinese, Indian and English.
The following day we started exploring George Town by visiting the jetties that were close by.
The first jetty, the Tan Jetty, was a bit of a shock. These jetties are known for having houses built above an area that's usually covered in ocean water. But, during low tide, we could see (and smell!) the remnants of green algaes covered in trash and drying under the hot sun.
The second one, the Chew Jetty, was nicer and started with a well decorated Buddhist temple that featured very colorful and impressive sculptures and carvings.
The jetty itself is a long, wooden street over the flood area, with houses and small shops on each side. When you reach the end, you can see the strait between Penang island, the Malaysian peninsula and its mountains.
The jetty was overcrowded with tourists but you could still see some of the murals for which Penang is known.
We continued our walk along the shore to arrive at the Ferry station. We also saw the Queen Victoria Memorial clock tower and the fort Cornwallis along the way.
We finally arrived at a park called Esplanade Padang Kota Lama, located in front of City Hall - a very bright yellow Town Hall, and a welcomingly breezy shoreline.
Following a picnic lunch in front of the sea, we decided to visit the financial district and the tourism office. There we learned there was a free shuttle bus going around town every 15 min called CAT (Central Area Transit 😺) that takes you through a quick tour of the city.
We decided to get off the bus in the area of the Chowrasta Market to go try the Teochew cendol/chendul (green jelly noodles in a sweet coconut juice topped with red beans - Yes, very yummy! 🤤) next to the KOMTAR, the highest tower in town, and walked back to the hotel.
On the way, we crossed the area around Lebuh Armenian, famous for the murals of 2 kids on a bike. We really liked the very lovely atmosphere of this neighborhood with the red lanterns lighting the streets full of small shops and cafes.
But we were really disappointed to see the murals as some of them were extremely damaged by time and certainly by tourists. For example, the "Children on a bicycle" will probably soon become "Child on a bicycle". The one with Bruce Lee kicking a cat 🙀 was also really damaged (probably by cat lovers!)
Some of the murals are really hidden in plain sight and you can pass them and note even notice, like the one known as Kung fu girl. The painting is next to a temple and we were so concentrated on it that we missed the enormous mural.
There are also more than 50 steel rod sculptures scattered around town providing some of George Town's fun and historical facts.
We continued to look for the street murals and steel rod sculptures as if we were participating on a treasure hunt.
We also want to point out the numerous beautiful Buddhist temples, with extremely detailed and sometimes colorful characters and myths of Buddhism. Temples such as Yap Kongsi, Cheah Kongsi, Hainan Thean Hou Temple and the Goddess of Mercy temple.
In the evening, we went back to the Esplanade Padang Kota Lama to have dinner as there was a festival that weekend.
As we went back to the hotel we visited George Town after dark. We saw the St George church and the Kapitan Keling Mosque and stumbled on an Indian festival, the Ratha Yatra, in front of the Sri Mahamariamman Temple. People were wearing beautiful traditional clothes and dancing in the streets in front of a carriage carrying an idol. They then started to leave and go across town singing and dancing. Penang is such a nice multicultural island!
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